The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 41, July 1937 - April, 1938 Page: 178
383 p. : maps ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
him and that results will appear in increased membership in the
several societies. He says:
While I do not have the figures, I will hazard the guess that
the State of Texas and the people of the State have not supported
their own historical association one-tenth as much as, say, Mas-
sachusetts and New York have supported theirs. Suppose we
as Texans wake up to our obligations and opportunities.
Dr. Charles W. Ramsdell's careful work on the Civil War period
is attracting favorable attention of the discriminating scholars. His
latest article, "Lincoln and Fort Sumter," appeared in the new
Journal of Southern History for August, 1937. This article does
not concern itself with the causes of the war but with its begin-
ning, the first shot. In any war each side is anxious to place the
blame for the opening of hostilities on the other. Historians
have long accepted it as a fact that the Southerners started the
war by firing on Fort Sumter. Ramsdell has adduced much
evidence, based on excellent sources, to show that President Lincoln
contrived to have the Southerners make the attack on Sumter,
thus placing the blame for the opening of hostilities on the South
and strengthening Lincoln's hold on the North. The best evidence
to support the thesis is found in the diary of Orville H. Browning,
a close personal friend of President Lincoln. Lincoln told Brown-
ing that after much anxious thought he himself conceived the
idea of sending supplies to Sumter without attempting to reinforce
it. "The plan succeeded. They attacked Sumter-it fell, and
thus, did more service than it otherwise could." Browning wrote
in his diary Lincoln's conversation the same night. This is a
very significant article, and must be taken into account in all
future appraisals of Lincoln.
Professor J. L. Sellers, a leading authority on southern history,
in commenting on Dr. Ramsdell's article, raises the question of
whether the end sought by Lincoln justified the means adopted.
The end, as Sellers sees it, was to restore the Union, harmonize the
discordant elements of a young party flushed with its first national
victory, and save the reputation of the administration. In con-
clusion Sellers remarks that "Abraham Lincoln reminds one that
a nation has to pay an awful price for its heroes. I rate him178
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 41, July 1937 - April, 1938, periodical, 1938; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101103/m1/194/: accessed May 3, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.